The wealth of the Persian Gulf monarchies, which skyrocketed with the 1970s oil crises, is now the biggest obstacle to their reform since it remains largely in the hands of conservative ruling families, analysts say.
"The authorities in the Gulf countries have a stranglehold on the economic potential of their countries, which is the main obstacle to real reforms," said Ahmed al-Diyan of the pro-reform Kuwaiti group the Democratic Forum.
"In our countries, the state is the biggest backer [of the economy] and the biggest employer, and controls the direction of the economy," Diyan said at a forum on Gulf reforms here which has gathered academics, thinkers and former officials.
In the region, he said, "the concept of power remains incompatible with the foundations of a modern state."
And despite small efforts at change over the past several years, "the authorities have not changed their way of thinking," while "the social forces which could undertake a reform project are weak," he added.
Calls for the Gulf states to reform have multiplied since the US launched a campaign to promote democracy in the region in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as well as since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
The six Gulf states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- have enormous oil and gas reserves, and a relatively small combined population of 32 million, which includes large expatriate communities.
But their political systems, with the exceptions of Kuwait and Bahrain, have remained stagnant. Kuwait has the region's oldest elected parliament while Bahrain restored its long dissolved legislature in 2002.
To introduce reforms in the countries, one would need "a real democracy, real popular participation in power," the former Bahraini education minister, Ali Fakhru, said at the two-day forum which ended Friday.
But "as long as the wealth does not belong to the people for the purpose of creating lasting development ... it will be difficult to talk of real reforms," he said.
He called for the creation of popular reform movements ready to campaign peacefully over the long haul for democracy, which he added could only come from internal pressure.
"Reform imposed from the outside is unacceptable," he said.
Emirati political science professor Ibtissam al-Kotbi added a warning that economic problems, especially rampant unemployment, risked causing the Gulf countries serious problems which could only be overcome with reforms.
"Political legitimacy in the Gulf countries is perpetuated thanks to money ... but it is not as easy to buy [people's] allegiance as it used to be," he said.
"As long as they are satisfied, the people are calm. But if they go hungry, they will start to rebel and resort to violence," he said.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS